This Wednesday also brings another edition of "Unriddled": the HubSpot Marketing Blog's mid-week digest of the tech news you need to know. It's our Wednesday tech news roundup, and we're breaking it down. A Big Departure and New Ads From Facebook Last week, Facebook's now former head of public policy and communications, Elliot Schrage, announced that he would be leaving the social media giant. Schrage's looming departure is followed by a recent announcement that Facebook will display ads in more places, the latest being Messenger. Read more about the new autoplay video ads from Recode's Kurt Wagner. Aleksandr Kogan Appears Before Senate Sub-Committee Aleksandr Kogan -- the Cambridge University professor who developed the app blamed for improperly obtaining Facebook user data that would later be exploited by voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica -- appeared yesterday before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security. The announcement comes after a 2016 high-profile disagreement between Apple and the FBI, when the former refused to provide what it called "backdoor" methods of accessing a locked iPhone. Read full announcement >> 5. And while developers determine a price point for a given app, Apple charges them 30% commission for every purchase. Read full announcement >> That’s all for today.
Welcome one, welcome all to a very warm Wednesday. Not only have we reached the week’s halfway point, but we’re one day away from the official start of summer here in Boston.
This Wednesday also brings another edition of “Unriddled”: the HubSpot Marketing Blog’s mid-week digest of the tech news you need to know. We’ve sifted through the vast pool of tech news items to help you decrypt what’s happening.
It’s our Wednesday tech news roundup, and we’re breaking it down.
Unriddled: The Tech News You Need
1. A Big Departure and New Ads From Facebook
Last week, Facebook’s now former head of public policy and communications, Elliot Schrage, announced that he would be leaving the social media giant.
“Leading policy and communications for hyper growth technology companies is a joy,” Schrage wrote in his official statement, “but it’s also intense and leaves little room for much else.”
In his announcement, Schrage also said that he would stay on just long enough to find and assist with the on-boarding of a replacement. It comes after months of criticism toward Facebook — from lawmakers, consumers, and others — not only for the Cambridge Analytica crisis, but also, for how the company responded to it.
Schrage’s looming departure is followed by a recent announcement that Facebook will display ads in more places, the latest being Messenger. While ad space has been sold within Messenger for about a year and a half, users will now see autoplay video ads.
The changes provide another means of ad revenue for Facebook, but how well-received they are by all users remains to be seen. Read more about the new autoplay video ads from Recode‘s Kurt Wagner. Read full story >>
2. Aleksandr Kogan Appears Before Senate Sub-Committee
Aleksandr Kogan — the Cambridge University professor who developed the app blamed for improperly obtaining Facebook user data that would later be exploited by voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica — appeared yesterday before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security.
Very little new information emerged from the hearing, where Kogan was joined by witnesses John Battelle (CEO of NewCo) and Ashkan Soltani (former CTO of the FTC).
In his written testimony, Kogan discounted the effectiveness of any data obtained…
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